The Gift of Giving
by Sailor Grape
Summary: Fluffy holiday one-shot... Duo's known for manipulating others, and Hiiro finds himself in a position he'd rather not be in. But maybe, just maybe Duo can help give Hiiro the Christmas gift the Perfect Soldier would never admit to wanting.


Title: The Gift of Giving  
  
Author: GrapeSmshr  
  
Rated: PG, just to be safe  
  
Disclaimer: I'm not even gonna bother...  
  
I'm such a sucker for Christmas fics. I just can't express that enough! I know, I should be working on MSWG, but I had to take a break to write this, I just *had* to! I was half inspired by a weird dream, half inspired by an episode of Full House (that I literally saw once every day for 4 straight days). Add those halves and you get a fluffy Christmas fic! Happy holidays to everyone, and I hope you enjoy!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
New Year's resolution: kill Duo. Slowly and very, very painfully, starting with the chopping off of his beloved braid.  
  
He was used to Duo's crazy schemes, what with being the braided ex-pilot's appointed 'best friend.' If this was what he had to put up with as the best friend, then he may as well have been Duo's worst enemy.  
  
There was no way to describe it other than sadistic. Duo was a sadist in the worst way, meaning that all of his warped plans always seemed to fall on Hiiro.  
  
Out of everything, though, this current situation was by far the worst. Hiiro was the ex-Perfect Soldier. This new plan of Duo's seriously undermined Hiiro's trademark stoicism, and he was positively fuming.  
  
"Come out, Hiiro," Duo called in a singsong voice as he waited for Hiiro to exit the bathroom. Honestly, why was he making such a fuss about this? It's not like he was asking the man to don a Playboy bunny outfit!***  
  
"I refuse to do this," Hiiro's monotone floated out though the door.  
  
Tapping his foot impatiently, Duo answered, "If you don't, I'll be sure to accidentally let word slip to Relena of your new address and phone number." He'd do it, too.  
  
Hiiro knew this, so a minute later he emerged from the bathroom, glaring with the strength to kill ten Duos.  
  
Of course, Duo didn't notice this, and it wasn't because he was laughing so hard that tears were running down his face. No, it was because Hiiro's severely pissed-off expression was hidden behind a beard, a long, thick white beard, topped with an equally bushy mustache. And the outfit wouldn't have been complete without the festive bright red Santa suit.  
  
When Duo didn't stop laughing, Hiiro whipped out his trusty pistol and aimed it at the Shingami's head.  
  
Laughter subsiding, Duo wiped the tears from his eyes. "That's not the kind of toy these kids are expecting, Hiiro."  
  
"Remind me again why I'm doing this," Hiiro grumbled as he slipped the pistol back into the coat of the swimmingly huge suit.  
  
Leading a very reluctant Hiiro down the hallway, Duo explained, "Because we're going to be making these kids happy. Besides, Ami asked me to be an elf, and I just happened to recommend you as Santa. I know, you can thank me later."  
  
"Don't worry, I will," Hiiro muttered darkly. He followed Duo the rest of the way in silence, inwardly planning the perfect torture session. He didn't even know why he agreed to do this in the first place. But he wouldn't back out. Even after the end of the wars, he still couldn't deny any mission. Either way, he was adding Duo's girlfriend to his 'To Torture' list.  
  
Reaching a door at the end of the hallway, Duo told Hiiro to wait there for a moment. Tipping his green felt hat to his friend, he burst through the door to where the kids were waiting.  
  
Standing impatiently, Hiiro shifted his bulky weight from one foot to the other. He never was very tolerant of kids. Why the hell did Duo recommend him for such a job? Quatre would have been much better for this!  
  
"And now, here's Santa!" Duo's voice rang out, along with excited squeals and cheers.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Hiiro entered the room, finding himself staring at dozens of screaming children. A sudden impending urge to flee almost made him turn and run, but an insistent tugging on his arm led him forward as Duo pushed him down into a chair at the front of the room.  
  
"Now, who's first?" At Duo's question, several eager hands shot into the air, accompanied by even louder screams. "All right, darling." Duo picked up a quiet little girl at the front, setting her gently on Hiiro's lap. As he just stared dumbly at the girl, Duo gave him a discreet stomp on the foot.  
  
Glaring at the innocently whistling elf, Hiiro asked the girl gruffly, "What do you want?" At Duo's warning gaze, he added a bit more gently, "For Christmas?"  
  
The little girl lowered her head, shaking her short brown ponytail.  
  
"You don't want anything?"  
  
After a long hesitation, the girl straightened and whispered in Santa's ear.  
  
"So you want a doll? Hiiro asked, to which the girl nodded. He glanced over at Duo, who was already rummaging through his bag of gifts.  
  
Pulling out a brightly wrapped package, Duo handed it to the girl, whose face lit up as she quickly took it and slipped off Santa's lap and over to her original seat.  
  
"I'm next!" A boy of around ten plopped himself down on Santa's lap, staring at the man defiantly.  
  
"Have you been good this year?"  
  
"No, but neither have you," the boy answered snottily. "I saw on the news earlier that Santa was arrested for bank robbery."  
  
At the collection of horrified gasps and sniffles from the kids, Hiiro answered expertly, "That was my brother. He's jealous because he's just a lowly elf"--he glanced at Duo when he said this--"and I'm Santa."  
  
The boy's eyes widened. "Your brother is a criminal? Cool!"  
  
On that note, Duo handed the boy a gift and quickly ushered him off of Santa's lap.  
  
He was replaced by a smaller, younger boy who was grinning up at Hiiro. Then he reached out and gave a swift, sharp tug on the white beard.  
  
"Ouch!" Hiiro rubbed his chin where some of the adhesive gave. "Do you want Santa to pull *your* hair?"  
  
Lower lip quivering, the little boy shook his head violently as he tried not to cry.  
  
Panicking, Hiiro said quickly, "Santa's only kidding! Here's a present!" When no present was given, he glared at the silently chuckling elf and ground out through gritted teeth, "Duo, give the boy a present."  
  
Quickly straightening, Duo handed the boy a gift and resumed his elfly duties.  
  
Surprisingly, Hiiro found that he was actually enjoying himself. With each new kid he talked to, he got to watch their eyes light up as they professed what they wanted for Christmas, and Duo gave them their gifts. It must be tough being in an orphanage during the holidays. Now he understood why Duo spent so much time here volunteering with Ami.  
  
Who had finally just shown up, he noticed. And she wasn't alone. Behind her trailed Usagi, one of Ami's best friends. She was wearing a fuzzy Santa hat bordered with mistletoe, which kept slipping over her odangos and tipping to one side. Laughing, she kept adjusting it and then bent down to hug the kids that ran to her in greeting. Apparently she was also a regular volunteer.  
  
Hiiro temporarily turned his attention away from the little girl who wanted a puppy and over to Usagi, who was laughing with Ami. He had somewhat gotten to know the woman when Duo would force the guys to intermingle with Ami's friends. Normally not one for any social situation, he was quite surprised when he was drawn to her on their first meeting. Since then, he had looked forward to the days when Duo would drag him out to spend time with the girls. He never told Duo of his... crush on her, though. He'd never hear the end of it.  
  
At the insistent poking in his gut, Hiiro turned back to the little girl, missing the cunning smile that Duo and Ami exchanged.  
  
A short while later, all of the kids had sat on Santa's lap and were happily playing with their toys. Hiiro watched the scene, a surge of pride running through him. He had helped make those kids happy, had given them a slightly better Christmas. It was very humbling.  
  
"You did well, my friend," Duo's statement broke through his thoughts. "And because of that, you deserve a gift of your own, from Ami and me."  
  
Before he could question the mysterious comment, Hiiro felt someone sit on his lap. He turned to see a prettily blushing Usagi, who was being held in place by Ami. The short-haired woman winked at Hiiro. "I hope you don't mind one more?" Then she grabbed Duo's hand and led him away.  
  
Shrugging apologetically, Usagi said, "Ami insisted I do this, reliving my childhood or some such thing." As he said nothing, she tugged gently at his beard. "I know you're not mute, Santa. Or do you just not want to talk to *me*?" she teased.  
  
Blinking in surprise, Hiiro felt a smile start to form. "And what would you like for Christmas?" he asked in a slightly deeper voice.  
  
"I suppose a pony wouldn't fit in your bag?" She laughed as he shook his head. "Ah, that's all right. No place to keep him in an apartment building, anyway." She looked thoughtful for a moment, biting her lower lip gently. Then she said, "Do you ever get lonely, Santa? Because I do." She sighed. "I want the kind of relationship that Ami has with Duo."  
  
Hiiro's ears perked up at this. "So... you want a boyfriend?" he asked hesitantly.  
  
"Not just any boyfriend. A certain boyfriend."  
  
Heart sinking just a bit, Hiiro couldn't deny that he was disappointed to hear that. If Usagi already had someone in mind, then she probably wouldn't want to go out with him.  
  
"He's a really great guy, too," Usagi continued, almost to herself. "He's cute and funny, even if he doesn't mean to be so. He's dedicated to his work and friends. He's not very social, though. For a while I was under the impression that he didn't much like people in general, but Duo assured me that he does. My favorite thing about him, though, is his eyes. He doesn't even have to talk--everything is expressed in his eyes, whether he realizes it or not. And they're such a beautiful color. In fact, they're much like yours..." Her voice trailed off as realization dawned on her. "Hiiro?" she asked, eyes wide.  
  
He gave a slight nod. During her little confession, he had realized just who she was talking about. He glanced over at Duo and Ami, who were grinning encouragingly at him. "Merry Christmas, Usagi," he murmured before pulling her into a mind-melting kiss.  
  
"Eww! Santa is kissing Usagi!" a little boy cried out.  
  
"What's the world coming to when even Santa can't be faithful to his wife?" Duo shook his head.  
  
"Apparently Usagi has been very, very good this year," Ami said, keeping a straight face for only a fraction of a second before bursting into another grin.  
  
Finally breaking apart, Usagi's lips curved into a smile. "Just tell me that on our first date, you'll lose the beard," she teased.  
  
Growling low in his throat, Hiiro pulled her to him and drowned in her kisses once more.  
  
Revised New Year's resolution: let Duo live. No. New New Year's resolution: spend every waking minute kissing Usagi.  
  
  
  
  
  
***I borrowed this from Gackt Camui's fic 'The Power of a Sneeze' just because I was so amused by it. So thank you to her for writing such a wonderfully hilarious fic!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Woohoo, holiday fluff! It's the stuff dreams are made of, I tell you. I hope I did Hiiro justice. I tried, but near the end I just made him a huge sap. What can you do; it's Christmas! Please review! Reviews are like the chocolate chips in my cookie days. You guys are so wonderful, and I can't express that enough. So here's to a new year full of smashingly fabulous fics! 


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